Richard Foreman, the respected downtown theatre auteur, will on Jan. 6, 2005, unveil his latest cerebral vaudeville, The Gods Are Pounding My Head (Lumberjack Messiahs), at the Ontological Theatre.

According to press materials, the show marks a turning point for the director: "Celebrating 37 years of mind-bending artistry, 67-year-old Foreman creates what he describes as the culmination of his many baroque and wildly theatrical pieces; after this year's climactic extravaganza, he plans a move into a more meditative mixed media mode."

Opening night is Jan. 18. Closing is April 17.

Foreman tends to use actors with whom he's familiar. But he found the star of his latest piece pulling espressos at an East Village coffee shop.

In a story reminiscent of the discovery of film star Lana Turner while she was sipping soda in Schwab's Drugstore, Foreman and actors Jay Smith and T. Ryder Smith were getting a dose of java at Taylor's, a Second Avenue coffee bar, when they noticed the striking features of their barista. The counter girl turned out to be Charlotta Mohlin, a native of Sweden who moved to New York in 2000 at the age of 18.

Foreman, a sheepish man of gnome-like appearance, asked Mohlin is she was an actress. Indeed, she had begun taking acting classes. Mohlin was invited to audition for Forman and soon won a lead in Gods opposite Jay Smith and T. Ryder Smith.